by Elle Lincoln
“Fine.” I swipe it away, my fingers touching his for a brief second. Even that slight touch sends sparks of awareness through my body. I sip the water, my mind whirling out of control.
I feel betrayed. But by what? I’m sure their secret isn’t something they advertise, otherwise it wouldn’t even be a secret. And yet the emotion remains. How did I not know?
“Let’s walk.” Without waiting, he spins away, pocketing my keys and his.
“When did you grab those?” I had them in my hand. I swear I had them in my hand. Sheriff? Nope, a tricky thief.
“I won’t wait for you, Damsel.” He doesn’t even look back as he heads to my favorite trail. The very one I had every intention of walking down. Alone. To look for clues. Dad always said magic lived in all of creation. The pull to walk this trail threatened to suffocate me after he died, and the reading of the will was the push I needed. Now I’m here.
Without a choice, I simply follow Christian. I groan as all the little breadcrumbs spill across my brain. “Alpha!” I scoff. “Pups!” I shout. “Mate?” My brows wrinkle. I am not diving into that pit of vipers right now.
What are you going to dive into though, Bean? What questions do you want an answer to?
I fall into step behind Christian. His silence is a chasm between us. He isn’t a fan of mine, in fact, I get the impression he’d rather be anywhere but here. Yet he’s walking with me along this trail. Humoring me in some small way.
Also, he’s in gray sweatpants.
I bite my knuckles as my eyes stray to his ass.
Focus, Bean!
I jerk my eyes up to his back where tattoos decorate his spine. I want to ask him about those, but I have other questions. Like how many squats it took for him to get that ass.
“You said we would talk.” I step onto the overgrown path where brush creeps along the forest floor, and vines follow in its wake. Trees line the path, looming overhead and granting the gift of shade. As we walk deeper into the forest, the temperature drops, feeling good on my overheated skin.
“Yes.”
I wait, but he says nothing as he marches through the woods wearing Liam’s boots. His heavy footfalls break small twigs and crunch old leaves.
“So... Liam turned into a—” I blink slowly, stepping closer to him as I eye my surroundings, trepidation creeping up my spine. What happened to the guy with the scars? “Wolf,” I finish.
“Lycan,” Christian corrects.
“Right, lycan.” I pause, reminding myself why I’m out here. “What’s a lycan?”
“What we are.”
“How is this helpful?” I throw my arms up, accidentally smacking him in the back of the head.
I feel no guilt.
He pauses, turning to stare at me, his face taut and cold. His muscles bunch with tension. “Damsel, I’m still coming to terms with the fact that you exist, so please don’t fucking push me.”
“Why the hell are you here then? Why not send one of the other guys?” I challenge, staring up into his face. A hint of fear tinges my emotions, but I squash it like a bug. There’s no room for that right now. My dad lived amongst wolves. Did he know?
I have questions.
“Because the others are busy and none of them will allow the rest of the pack near you,” he scoffs, like it’s not an issue but more of a fight. One he’s willing to end.
“Then call one of them.”
“No,” he answers quickly, only confusing me more.
I hold up a hand. When he opens his mouth, I wave it in front of his face before slapping said hand over his mouth. “Nope. Every time you talk, you twist my mind up until I have no idea what the hell is going on. You’re confusing and jumpy, and I just need to know what the hell a lycan is! Start. There,” I grind out.
“Fine,” he mumbles into my hand before licking it.
I yank my hand away, disgust on my face and triumph on his.
“Shall we, your highness?” His nostrils flare as he sneers at me.
“You can take that pretentious attitude and shove it right up you—”
He places a finger over my lips with a smug smirk. “Ah-ah, Damsel.”
I snap at his finger, trying to bite it off. What is wrong with me?
A dark grin stretches across his face. “Now where were we?” His eyes dip to my lips before he spins around to steer me down the path, his hand squeezing my elbow once before he lets go again.
I hate that his touch eases me. For some reason, I feel safe here with him, even if his sexiness wraps around him to hide his inner asshole. “Lycan, we were at lycan,” I remind him, just as I trip over a log and go flying into him.
With reflexes that shouldn’t be possible, he spins and catches me, his arms wrapping around me protectively for a moment. Then, he squeezes once before letting go to walk away once more, giving me his back.
“Cliff notes. Lycans are werewolves in a sense,” he says over his shoulder, pushing a thorny branch out of the way only for it to slap my face as he moves past.
Asshole. “So you’re not a werewolf?”
“Eh. Semantics.”
“Unhelpful, Christian.”
“The moon binds werewolves. Magic binds a lycan. We are stronger, more agile, and can partially shift as human. We also keep human thought in our wolf form.” He turns around with a wag to his brows as though that should impress me. When I don’t give him the reaction he’s looking for, he spins right back around to keep walking.
“So you can shift whenever it suits you?”
“Yes.” He glances at me, but it isn’t full of warmth, more like annoyance that he has to teach a pitiful little human about the moon creatures. I gesture for him to continue, and I savor his eye roll. “Lycans are the original form of werewolves. We are goddess blessed.”
“I’m sorry, you will have to back that crazy train right back up to sanity-ville. Did you say goddess?”
“I said goddess,” he confirms. “So the story goes that Zeus cursed a king. Turned him into a werewolf. The goddess Selene interfered, gifting him with the intelligence he once had, but she couldn’t just remove a curse from Zeus. So she bound the two forms, creating the first lycan.”
“That’s a lot to wrap my head around. I can’t process that right now.” I rub my temples, feeling an ache settle in as I continue to trip over branches. “This can’t be real.”
“It’s real, Damsel. We just can’t figure you out.”
“What about me?” I grumble, staring daggers at his back.
“That is a conversation for later when all the guys are around.” He avoids looking at me. There are secrets swimming in his arrogant head, secrets that involve me.
“What the hell do they have to do with it?”
“Everything.”
I give him a slow blink that he can’t see. “How did you know where to find me?”
“GPS.”
I smack my forehead—of course. I bite my lip, chewing the soft flesh raw as we traverse the trail. “Did you search out here?”
Grunting, he replies sourly, “No.” He doesn’t sound too happy about that.
“It was our spot. It leads to the lake.” I pause, eyeing the thicket that rises all around us. “Are we safe out here? I mean, those wolves…” As much as I’m enjoying the question and answer thing he has going on, I can’t let go of the fact that two wolves popped out of nowhere. “They must have been enough of a threat to make Liam shift and attack.”
“If it wasn’t for the fact I can smell your unease, I’d say you are doing pretty well with all of this.”
“Smell my unease. Don’t say that again. It’s creepy.” My feet pause on the dirt trail, my eyes going wide. “You can smell emotions?”
“Sure can, Damsel,” he teases, which sounds wrong coming from his lips.
It doesn’t take a genius to guess he can smell my arousal. Isn’t that just great? Focus, Bean. I spin the conversation back around. “Oh, I’m freaking out, but you’re calming me, which should freak
me out even more, but it’s not. Why am I not freaking out like I should? Hell, I already called my doctor once today.” The traitor.
“You called your doctor?” he growls, spinning on me. “What the hell did you say to her?”
“I wanted to know if I was dying.”
“You aren’t dying!” Spittle flies from his mouth, landing on my cheek, which I flick off with an aggressive wipe.
“Well, I didn’t know that!” I shout back at him. “My chest hurt, and I thought I was hallucinating.” My voice drops to a whisper, and I have a slight pout on my lips. Damn him for making me feel even crazier.
“Woman!” He runs his hands through his inky hair, messing it up further. I get the feeling he rarely looks unkempt. Though I hate to admit it, the look suits him.
“Look.” I sigh, turning around to head down the path in front of him. “I feel like I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole and landed in Wonderland.” Without him touching me, the panic creeps in and the hair on my neck rises. I spin around, the freak out imminent. “What if the wolves are out here?”
Rolling his entire body in exasperation, he steps into me. “Touch me.”
“Now is not the time for a proposition, I feel anxiety coming on.” My breath speeds up, my heart pounds in my chest, and sweat beads along my forehead despite the cool weather.
“I’m not propositioning you, Damsel. I already told you I wouldn’t fuck the burn away.” Except the way he’s looking at me makes him a liar, and when he licks his full lips, I know for sure he is full of shit. “I just don’t want you to panic and puke on me again.” He reaches out and grips my elbow, and a wave of comfort flutters through me.
“Oh, that’s quality stuff.” The adrenaline leaves me so fast I sag into his chest. Okay, my forehead slams into his chest where I roll it along his naked skin. His body radiates warmth like a furnace. Warm and inviting, even though he is anything but.
“Better?” He can’t hide the amusement in his voice as he laughs at me.
“Can I bottle that up and take a shot of it every morning?” I don’t move away, not yet, just touching him calms me better than any coping technique I’ve ever come across.
The rumble in his chest shocks me so much I step back. He peers down at me, and his smile lights up his face.
“You should smile more often.” Yep, I had to ruin our moment.
He scowls down at me. “Let’s go.”
“As you wish.” I loop my arm in his and keep bodily contact. Really, I don’t think I’m as much of a damsel as I am. I’m lying to myself. I’m in full-on damsel mode right now. “Who was that guy earlier?”
“A pack beta.”
“Care to elaborate?”
He shrugs as we wind deeper and deeper into the forest. All around us, the sounds of late summer wrap embrace us. Birds sing, frogs croak, and crickets chirp. Their songs and harmonies ease me even further.
“You don’t have to worry about the other wolves, they are—” He glances down at me, his eyes searching my face for another panic attack. I don’t miss the way he evaded my question.
“Are they dead?” I recall the blood that sprayed out as the white wolf tore into the gray wolf’s throat.
“Yep.” Unashamed and unapologetic, he smiles down at me, daring me to flip out over that little fact.
“Who were they? And will I get arrested as an accomplice?” That is the last thing I need.
“First, you need to realize that Northern Allegheny National Forest is partially Lunar Pack lands. Route 666 splits the packs that live here. Those wolves were not of our pack, and they were trespassing. Not only that, they sought you out, Damsel.” He steers me into an opening I know all too well, and my heart skips a beat as we get closer.
“So….” I swallow thickly. “I’m not safe at Dad’s cabin.”
“We’ve upped the patrol, allowing the pack as close as we dare. But your father lived at the edge of the pack, straining our link. Right now, it’s the four of us working to keep your cabin safe. We can talk about this more once we get back, but right now go look at the reason you drove out here like a bat out of hell. Also, don’t think I didn’t notice the tail pipe hanging off the truck.” He lets go of me and stands off to the side with his arms crossed.
“Not my fault, these roads are to blame.” I wag a finger at him. I already determined he can bill PennDOT, because it sure as hell isn’t my fault the roads are littered with potholes.
“Woman, Pennsylvania is known for its potholes. You could have easily avoided them.” I turn my back on him, ignoring that little smirk that says he’s enjoying this. Probably enjoying the fact that I screwed up Liam’s mud-covered truck more.
My eyes take in the glistening lake—our secret spot. I walk along the clear water, my footsteps slow as my sneakers crunch along the gravel. The dock looks rebuilt, and two kayaks are tethered to the side, but the scrawl on one nearly undoes me.
“Bean,” I whisper as I get closer, the vinyl letters written in cursive along the teal plastic. My knees tumble to the rocky shoreline as my fingers caress the black lettering. “Oh, Dad.”
A lump builds in my throat, the emotion bitter and painful. He didn’t plan to die. Didn’t plan to leave me. This boat right here is proof of that. The brand-new kayak on the other side, a fishing kayak, screams of the plans he was making.
Footsteps sound along the rocky shoreline, stopping behind me. I swipe angrily at the tears that flow down my face, not wanting Christian to witness them. He probably already thinks I’m nothing but a weak child. Unless someone walks in my shoes, they can never understand the loss of a parent.
“Do you know when he bought these?” Once more, my fingers graze over the lettering of my nickname.
“Sabina, I didn’t even know he had this dock built.” The seriousness in his tone and the use of my actual name sends a trickle of awareness through me. River rock digs into my knees as I spin around to look up at him.
“How is that even possible?” I frown, staring at him before standing. No need to stay in that scandalous position. “If Allegheny National Forest is your pack territory,” I mock, “then you should know what’s on it.”
He runs a hand down his face. His callouses catch on his stubble, creating a scratchy sound. Those mismatched eyes peer down at me in apprehension. “Sabina, we knew there was a pond where he went fishing, but this lake? It shouldn’t be here. When we run the pack lands, we come out this way. Not once did we see this.” He flings his hands out, his brow wrinkling. “I already informed the others of this place. For some reason, following you out here must have… I don’t know, made it un-invisible.”
“That’s not a word.”
“It’s a word today.”
“Visible,” I correct him, spinning to step onto the freshly stained dock. Dad must have done this at some point over the summer. I gaze across the lake, my brow furrowing. Tall pines reach skyward, while deciduous trees glitter with warm reds and oranges in the skylight. By lake standards, it’s small, just a blip to a great lake, but bigger than a pond.
“I asked you if I hallucinated this lake. You told me no.”
“We would have told you anything to keep you conscious.”
I frown at his apathetic voice, choosing instead to walk around the lake. “Come on.”
“The pack will be here in moments to scour the area. We should head back unless you want to see what a pack of lycans looks like.” There’s a challenge in his voice. With Christian, I feel like there will always be a challenge from him when it comes to me.
Why am I up for that test when before I wouldn’t have risen to him baiting me? It must just be something about the man standing before me. Him, it has to be him.
I chew on my lip, wishing I had a mint to gnaw on. I’m going to end up biting my lip to pieces and leaving raw flesh that I’m sure will be oh so attractive. My eyes stray back to the kayaks, and longing splits my chest in half.
I’ll never have a day on the water with Dad again.
Panic flickers across his face as tears fall down my own. “Shit,” he curses.
“Who, Christian? Who is going to take the fish off the freaking hook?” I throw my arms up, panic bubbling in my chest. Of all things to trigger me.
I know I’m being ludicrous. I know I’m reacting to my grief. But dammit, I’m not a badass she-wolf like Legs at the post office. I’m more inclined to hide under a table during a bar fight, tossing pool balls out to trip people. I’m not one to throw punches. I’ve never even hit a person in my life, and if I did, I’m sure I’d break my hand.
“Sabina, calm down.” He holds his hands out like he’s speaking to a rabid animal.
I hop up onto the dock so we’re eye level and wag a finger at him. “Rule number four in the manual for dealing with women, never tell them to calm down.”
“There’s a rule book to deal with this shit?” For the first time, he looks intrigued by the words that are coming out of my mouth.
“Yes, there is a rule book!” I point to my head. “Up here. You should have read it!”
“How am I supposed to read a rule book in your freaking head?”
“Aren’t you a wolf? Use your wolfy senses.”
“I’m not freaking Spiderman, woman!” he shouts at me, which only makes my ire grow. I grab onto the anger like a lifeline, preferring to hold onto that over the grief that festers inside of me.
“You know when I’m aroused!”
He throws his hands up, his long fingers pulling his hair as he spins and walks away.
My breath heaves. “I’m not done!” I yell at his back.
“Doll face, we can all smell when you’re aroused.” Liam’s voice wraps around my body, threatening to calm me just like Christian’s touch.
“Oh, thank Selene! You deal with her!” Christian rips off Liam’s boots and his sweats, gifting me with a quick look at his ass before light pierces him and a black wolf sits in his place. The inky bastard huffs at me before trotting off, getting in the last word even if that last word is in wolf.
